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Cultured Meat: Promises and Challenges

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  • Nicolas Treich

    (University Toulouse Capitole)

Abstract

Cultured meat involves producing meat from animal cells, not from slaughtered animals. This innovation has the potential to revolutionize the meat industry, with wide implications for the environment, health and animal welfare. The main purpose of this paper is to stimulate some economic research on cultured meat. In particular, this paper includes a prospective discussion on the demand and supply of cultured meat. It also discusses some early results on the environmental impacts of cultured meat, emphasizing the promises (e.g., regarding the reduction in land use) but also the uncertainties. It then argues that cultured meat is a moral improvement compared to conventional meat. Finally, it discusses some regulatory issues, and the need for more public support to the innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicolas Treich, 2021. "Cultured Meat: Promises and Challenges," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 79(1), pages 33-61, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:79:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s10640-021-00551-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10640-021-00551-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Wolfgang Brozek & Christof Falkenberg, 2021. "Industrial Animal Farming and Zoonotic Risk: COVID-19 as a Gateway to Sustainable Change? A Scoping Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-30, August.
    2. Ivica Faletar & Marija Cerjak, 2022. "Perception of Cultured Meat as a Basis for Market Segmentation: Empirical Findings from Croatian Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-16, June.
    3. Romain Espinosa & Nicolas Treich, 2023. "Eliciting Non-hypothetical Willingness-to-pay for Novel Products: An Application to Cultured Meat," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 85(3), pages 673-706, August.
    4. Arturo Nickolay Rojas-Tavara & Alberto Jesus Donayre-Torres, 2023. "Microalgae in lab-grown meat production," Czech Journal of Food Sciences, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 41(6), pages 406-418.
    5. Asioli, Daniele & Fuentes-Pila, Joaquìn & Alarcón, Silverio & Han, Jia & Liu, Jingjing & Hocquette, Jean-Francois & Nayga, Rodolfo M., 2022. "Consumers’ valuation of cultured beef Burger: A Multi-Country investigation using choice experiments," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    6. Franziska Funke & Linus Mattauch & Inge van den Bijgaart & H. Charles J. Godfray & Cameron Hepburn & David Klenert & Marco Springmann & Nicolas Treich, 2022. "Toward Optimal Meat Pricing: Is It Time to Tax Meat Consumption?," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(2), pages 219-240.
    7. Luiz Morais-da-Silva, Rodrigo & Glufke Reis, Germano & Sanctorum, Hermes & Forte Maiolino Molento, Carla, 2022. "The social impacts of a transition from conventional to cultivated and plant-based meats: Evidence from Brazil," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    8. Nick Lin-Hi & Marlene Reimer & Katharina Schäfer & Johanna Böttcher, 2023. "Consumer acceptance of cultured meat: an empirical analysis of the role of organizational factors," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(4), pages 707-746, May.
    9. Caroline Giezenaar & A. Jonathan R. Godfrey & Olivia J. Ogilvie & Petra Coetzee & Maheeka Weerawarna N.R.P. & Meika Foster & Joanne Hort, 2023. "Perceptions of Cultivated Meat in Millennial and Generation X Consumers Resident in Aotearoa New Zealand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-20, February.
    10. Rodrigo Luiz Morais-da-Silva & Eduardo Guedes Villar & Germano Glufke Reis & Hermes Sanctorum & Carla Forte Maiolino Molento, 2022. "The expected impact of cultivated and plant-based meats on jobs: the views of experts from Brazil, the United States and Europe," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-14, December.
    11. Funke, Franziska & Mattauch, Linus & van den Bijgaart, Inge & Godfray, Charles & Hepburn, Cameron & Klenert, David & Springmann, Marco & Treich, Nicholas, 2021. "Is Meat Too Cheap? Towards Optimal Meat Taxation," INET Oxford Working Papers 2021-08, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Meat; Cultured meat; Food innovation; Meat consumption; Meat production; Climate change; Pollution; Land use; Animal welfare; Regulation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q16 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - R&D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • Q52 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects
    • Q11 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis; Prices
    • L31 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Nonprofit Institutions; NGOs; Social Entrepreneurship
    • L66 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Food; Beverages; Cosmetics; Tobacco

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